Iraq Gains Independence

Nominal Turkish suzerainty imposed in 1638 was
replaced by direct Turkish rule in 1831. In World War I, Britain occupied
most of Mesopotamia and was given a mandate over the area in 1920. The
British renamed the area Iraq and recognized it as a kingdom in 1922. In
1932, the monarchy achieved full independence. Britain again occupied Iraq
during World War II because of its pro-Axis stance in the initial years of
the war.

Iraq became a charter member of the Arab League
in 1945, and Iraqi troops took part in the Arab invasion of Palestine in
1948.

At age 3, King Faisal II succeeded his father,
Ghazi I, who was killed in an automobile accident in 1939. Faisal and his
uncle, Crown Prince Abdul-Illah, were assassinated in July 1958 in a
coup that ended the monarchy and brought to power a military
junta headed by Abdul Karem Kassim. Kassim reversed the monarchy's
pro-Western policies, attempted to rectify the economic disparities
between rich and poor, and began to form alliances with Communist
countries.